Author: wordsatheart

Today’s post is inspired by a quote from Nayyirah Waheed’s poetry book, salt. I found the quote posted on Instagram and its simple yet straightforward message struck a chord within me. Here’s the reason why.

“Naive”, “innocent” and, at times, “childish” are words that I hear others use when they describe me. And, for the most part, I agree with them. As a young adult, I’d readily choose to play Pokemon over going out to parties or clubs, pick to re-watch animated movies over movies with more adult themes and, sometimes, it’d still take me some time to understand some of the jokes my friends would make. I never really gave much thought if being naive or innocent were negative ways to describe a person. Although this is the case, I sometimes feel left out when I’d see my friends having fun at an activity I chose to skip out on but the feeling never really lasts for long.

Going into my first year of uni was a bit of a different story. During the first two weeks, there were various parties and events almost every day and night. Since university was a whole new experience for me, I thought, “why not give a few of them a shot?” And so I did. I attended a few hang- outs and parties to get a glimpse of why most people loved doing it so much. At first, I didn’t really get the answers I was looking for. In one social event, I was introduced to a few people and I tried talking to them but soon, I ran out of things to say and I became uncomfortable. At another party I unwillingly attended, I followed my heart to lead me straight back to my dorm to order pizza and watch anime. These were only a couple of memories that really stood out to me because I distinctly remember being out of place since I don’t enjoy the same activities that other people my age did.

After that party, my roommate asked me why I had left early and why I always stayed in the room. My answer went something along the lines of “I’m more relaxed inside” and although she didn’t seem convinced, I really didn’t care. That was the plain and simple truth. I just didn’t enjoy the same things most people my age do and that wasn’t – isn’t– a problem. It just took me some time to be comfortable with that line of thinking, and Narriyah Waheed’s quote cemented that in me.

Being called “naive”, “innocent” or “childish” are not insults, so don’t take them that way. There’s no rule that you should like certain things at a certain age. A friend of mine who did admit that I am a bit childish, said, “But that’s fine. Don’t let the world take away your innocence.” And he’s correct. Don’t act in ways that make you uncomfortable. If you like playing the same games you played when you were younger, then do it. Alternatively, if you prefer to go partying with your friends, then do that too. And if you like doing both, then do both. Be who you are and if that means being childish or innocent, then, to quote Narriyah Waheed, “stay soft. it looks beautiful on you.”

This is one of the most iconic quotes in the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling. I distinctly remember watching the scene in the movie where Dumbledore announces it in the Great Hall. As he says it, he waves his hand in front of a candle to make the fire go out and back again. His motion was simple but the message was clear. Our happiness is a choice.

There are countless times in everyone’s lives where we can feel helpless, frustrated, trapped, miserable or a combination of all of those. In those moments, we may find it extremely difficult to believe, or even remember, that our happiness is a choice. In the current time that I’m writing this, there are multiple tragic events that have been happening around the world and my heart and prayers goes out to everyone – adults, teens, children, the elderly, families, friends, and everyone else – that have been affected. I don’t think that I’ll be able to completely capture what they’re currently going through in words with the justice they deserve.

I try not to talk too much about these sort of stuff online and I usually offer my own prayers in silence. However, with all these events that have been going on lately, I feel the need to at least remind others that there is still hope even in the darkest moments of our lives. We must all try our best to find that hope and act on it. If you have the opportunity to help those in need, such as donating to charity or volunteering your aid, just do it. Even if you’re limited in your resources to help out, spread the word. In this day and age, it is so easy to make others aware of a cause or event through the power of social media – which most of us have at the tip of our fingers. The more people are aware, the more support we can gather.

We are all living in this tiny world with only one life. We should all be supporting each other in the best way we can. Just because it doesn’t affect you or it didn’t happen anywhere near you does not mean that it’s not something you shouldn’t be concerned with. We have the choice to make this world a better and happier place for all of us. Let’s all try to make that choice – one way or another – each day. It all starts with you. Your happiness is a choice.

First, I’d like to address my absence. I decided to start this blog at the beginning of March and I promptly started to get bombarded by the second half of my last term of first year university. I wanted to keep writing and uploading but I decided to push it all back until summer started. Now that I have loads of free time, I can’t wait to get back into writing!

This quote is from one of my favorite YouTube original songs, “Live Long Enough to Become a Hero” by Nathan Sharp (NateWantsToBattle). It’s my favorite lyric out of the whole song because it represents feelings of new hope in the midst of hardships. It’s that surge of motivation, energy and strength you get that help you to rise once more and become the hero of your own stories and life.

As an introvert, I’m very selective about the people I talk to when it comes to personal things. Thus, there are only a few people that I openly discuss any problems or concerns I have and even then, I find it hard to talk about it with them because I don’t want to feel like a burden to them. This happened several times in my first term of university because I was in a new area, away from most of my family and friends and with no one to confide in. I started to feel trapped and lonely because I felt like I had to deal with everything all on my own.

Things began to look up in the second term when I met more people and started a few more friendships. The more I spent time with these people, the more I began to trust them and confide in them. When I listened to this song for the first time, these lyrics stood out to me because they perfectly described what I was going through. I did find the strength to confide to these people about personal things and I began to see new hope despite all the obstacles and worries I was facing. It felt empowering to be able to share something that I kept inside for a while. Slowly but surely, it was like a breath that I finally let out after holding it in for so long and the peace that came with each moment gave me the strength to keep moving forward.

I know that I will still face many challenges ahead of me, but, if my experiences have ever taught me anything, it’s that I will always find the strength to keep on going. To anyone who’s reading this and is going through a rough patch on their own, stay strong and gather the strength to make everything right again.

This quote is by Edmund Wilson and I believe that it beautifully captures the reading experience of individuals. “No two persons ever read the same book” is an exciting realization because it helps us remember that people have different experiences reading a book, watching a movie, playing a game, listening to music or watching TV shows so it’s always an interesting topic of conversation. It fascinates me to hear about other people’s views of a certain thing, especially if I’m very interested in that certain thing too.

For example, I love talking about video games, watching other people do let’s plays and reading video game reviews because it opens me up to other people’s experiences in playing the game, how differently they played it or if I missed any exciting features in my own play- through. My main point is, it excites me to be informed of other perspectives of things that I love (or hate) because it’s as if I’m viewing that thing through a whole different angle.

Going back to the topic of books, I’m a fast reader and I get through a book quite quickly especially if I’m interested in it. During the first time I read it, I usually get this rush of good feelings and I get lost in reading. Afterwards, I often find myself wishing that I can “unread” a book so that I can get the same feelings when I read it again. Since that isn’t physically possible (…yet), I like to settle for reading other people’s thoughts on it then maybe I’ll pick up the book again. In the next few times I read the same book, I sometimes pick up on things I missed before or I make connections or theories regarding the plot, characters, places,etc. As it turns out, I’m not the only one who does this and other people do the same.

That’s why I love reading. The adventure doesn’t end when you turn over the last page and close the book. It carries on loooong after that. You can relive the same experience or even live the experience of others through their own unique perspective. In my opinion, reading is still one of the best ways of travelling through space and time through your own and others’ minds.

I wanted to start off this journey with something very fitting for the occasion and this quote matches the bill. It comes from one of my all time favourite songs and Disney movies – “Tale as Old as Time” from Beauty and the Beast.

I think about this quote a lot because it applies to so many situations and yet, it still holds a very deep meaning. The decision to start this new blog has been on my mind for quite a few months now, and I finally chose to begin this journey. I was hesitant at starting another blog at this time because I knew that it would require many hours of effort and commitment if I wanted to run it successfully.However, this quote helped me remember that any change, no matter how big or small, can still have a sizeable impact on your life. I am passionate about writing and I love lettering so I decided to share both of those with the rest of the world. I’m not exactly sure where this journey will go but I’m very excited to make it happen.

What I take from this quote is a message that also has a deep connection with the movie. As Belle and the Beast spent more of their time together, they began to change their perspective of each other little by little. As the movie progressed, we see their relationship strengthen and it ultimately led to something beautiful for both of them. That’s where the beauty of this quote lies. For me, it conveys the message that you can decide to view things from a different perspective and it can lead to wonderful destinations. It doesn’t have to happen all at once but you just need to be patient and determined all the way through.

Sometimes, we may look back and realize that the decision we chose wasn’t exactly the best one. But that’s okay. We all make mistakes sometimes and we can still choose to learn from them and move on knowing better.

~ Ro

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